On May 24, 2011, Marilyn Wellons sent the following letter to the Boston Globe editor in response to the oped:

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Humans nearly exterminated Canada geese through hunting and habitat destruction a hundred years ago. That is why they are a federally protected species. Here are some facts for Mr. Harmon as he leads the charge for another go. I doubt they will dissuade him.

These creatures are greatly disadvantaged in their competition for habitat with the likes not only of golf-playing Mr. Harmon. In Delafield, Wisconsin, lakeshores are being sold for housing, its meadows paved over for Walmart. To the north, as the permafrost melts from climate change, lakes disappear. Who is encroaching upon whose turf?

As for goose poop, with geese, it’s grass in, grass out. Their non-toxic excrement replenishes the grass. Unlike others’, it almost uniquely does not attract flies. Free fertilizer for the public golf course!

Mr. Harmon’s modest proposal for gassing ignores evidence since 1945 that it is not a “humane” way to exterminate organisms.

It seems his problem is with his fellow humans. We city dwellers actually need and enjoy contact with the natural world—and celebrate what Mr. Harmon finds distasteful. It was presumably for this reason that a hundred years ago so many states invested in urban parks, Massachusetts among them.

3. Apologies.

From May 10 on, I worked seven days out of nine, occupying 15 to 16 hours each time, as an extra/actor on the movie “Here Comes the Boom” which was shooting in Lowell, MA.

In the middle of this shoot, my computer collapsed with a virus. Cleaning up this virus involved a number of extended phone discussions with McAfee, extended work on my own, and one phone discussion with the manufacturer of my computer. My praises to Toshiba. One phone call and very efficient service.

This morning, May 27, 2011, I finally fixed the virus and am now catching up.

To put it mildly, the combination was a person nightmare.

Actually, I got out three reports on this blog in the middle of everything. I have been very busy.

About Me

Sponsored by Friends of the White Geese, Bob La Trémouille, chair/editor. Friends of the White Geese has worked since 2000 and has been a recognized Massachusetts, USA non-profit organization since 2001. Our goal is to defend the environment on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA, USA.